Books are an inexhaustible source of magic

“”Footprints.”
“A man’s or a woman’s?”
Dr. Mortimer looked strangely at us for an instant, and his voice sank almost to a whisper as he answered: “Mr Holmes, they were the footprints of s gigantic hound!””
The Hound of the Baskervilles by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Final Verdict: An interesting take on the classic story, but ultimately failing to make a connection with the audience.

“It’s not that I’m afraid my parents wouldn’t approve. I’m afraid they would. I want this to be all mine. Amaterasu’s only been around for a couple of weeks. How many of these girls have even seen her?”Laura in The Wicked + The Divine, Vol. 1: The Faust Act by Kieron Gillen and Jamie Mckelvie

Final Verdict: A beautiful comic with a plot you may not always follow, but is intriguing and leaving you wanting to know what happens next.

“And it was all stupid daydreaming, because even assuming for one minute there was a cure and the doctor would give it to a nobody werewolf like him, he still would have a long way to go before he was anything but a homeless, worthless nobody.”Midsummer Moon by Megan Derr

Final Verdict: A very different werewolf story that is hard to put down, and introduces you to the wonder that is the town of Midsummer and the crazy characters that live there!

Book Title: Risk It AllAuthor: Megan Derr“If it was a trap…He’d already killed one Alpha, three Candidates, and more than a dozen of the wolves that had been trying to hunt him down. That didn’t count all the death matches in the pits that he’d been forced into. Alpha or not, Kipling could best him, and it wasn’t like he’d let the man take him somewhere he and a bunch of friends could jump on Kipling. Lunch and a f*** were a risk he could afford to take.”Risk It All by Megan Derr

Final Verdict: While not as polished as some of Derr’s stories, it is a fun, guilty read.

“But I bet you didn’t know this, the word ‘monster’ also has roots in the ‘monere’ which means to help or instruct. Do we like to be afraid? Do we like to confront our fears and externalize our internal struggle? Or is it that we love monsters because so often we are the very monsters we fear most?”
The October Faction: Volume 1 by Steve Niles and Damien Worm

Final Verdict: Great new comic that will appeal to fans of darker comics with dashes of humor and family that reminds you what really love is!

“It turned out M.C. didn’t really do Christmas the way An-An’s family did, with presents and cookies. Instead, there was a lot more mayhem and death.”
From Ad Meliora in A Touch of Mistletoe edited by Megan DerrFinal Verdict: A great collection of winter holiday themed stories that make for a fun way to take a break no matter the time of year.

“This is your first Christmas without Granny Birch, I know you probably want to hide, pretend Christmas doesn’t exist, spend time drinking it away and reading books, but we’re not going to let that happen.”
Beth in Season’s Meetings by Amy Dunne

Final Verdict: Fun holiday romance book that is perfect with a cup of tea and curling up on the couch.

“He squeaked in dismay when he saw he was not wrong, not even a little. The Hot Twins were sitting at the breakfast nook with his dad. Oh, god, what the hell were they doing there? At nine in the morning? While his hair was standing on end and he was wearing Spiderman pyjama pants?”
Sidney from Rabbit Season by Megan Derr